Gave your kids smartphones for the holidays? You might want to reconsider their bedtime.
Children who slept in the same room as small screens such as smartphones got almost 21 fewer minutes of shut-eye a night than those who didn't, according to research published today by the journal Pediatrics. The two age groups studied — about 9 year olds and 12 year olds — also reported significantly less regular sleep with a phone nearby, possibly due to the buzz of text messages and app notifications.
The paper joins a growing body of research finding that gadgets correspond to shorter, more fitful nights, as well as other health issues such as weight gain. The evidence suggests that bright, blinking screens are affecting our biological timekeeper, the circadian clock.